Throughout 2022, “L’épopée” had the privilege of welcoming artists whose fate had been weakened by a pandemic which had painfully confined them. Happy to find the stage and the way to the studios, many of them were enthusiastic at our microphone about their return to the spotlight. Their joy was such a comforting breath of fresh air that we give them the floor again in this musical and radio anthology. Oumou Sangaré, Richard Bona, Omar Pene, Abdullah Ibrahim and Madé Kuti are on the program for this 100% African retrospective!
On January 23, 2022, the Senegalese singer Omar Pene fervently presented his album “Weather», a work steeped in social convictions and human values essential to our planetary well-being. For the occasion, he had invited a few friends to the studio, including percussionist Alioune Seck, singer Faada Freddy, bassist Alune Wade and guitarist Hervé Samb, among others… Omar Pene could only congratulate himself on promoting a repertoire magnified by d excellent instrumentalists thus proving that the weight of the years, 50 years of career all the same, had no effect on his ardor and his desire to carry a word of tolerance.
The year 2022 has reserved other beautiful surprises for us, in particular when the South African pianist Abdullah Ibrahim agreed to answer our questions in duplex from Germany. The release of his albumLoneliness», realized during the planetary confinement, gave him the opportunity to express alone on the piano all the magic of his virtuosity. On February 6, 2022, the wise words of this giant of “The Epic of Black Music”, punctuated by thunderous bursts of laughter, did not evoke the past but more the present moment because, from the height of his 87 years, Abdullah Ibrahim insisted on the need to live without nostalgia. He did, however, agree to remember Duke Ellington and Thelonious Monk whom he affectionately referred to as the “village chiefs”.
Oumou Sangaré was also one of our prestigious guests in 2022. Sunday 1er May, the famous Malian singer revealed on our antenna new compositions conceived in Baltimore, in the United States, in the company of her friend Mamadou Sidibé. Always as determined to transmit messages of peace and unity, the goodwill ambassador to the FAO (Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations) wanted to address her compatriots through “Timbuktu“, an album so symbolic at a pivotal time in the history of his native country. Secretive, Oumou Sangaré was careful not to announce her collaboration with Richard Bona before the famous bassist revealed this single to us a few weeks later.
On June 19, 2022, Richard Bona surprised us with “Duuru Wakani“, an afro-electrifying title 100 leagues from its usual musical convolutions. At our microphone, he was amused by this stylistic volte-face and demonstrated that his insatiable need to distinguish himself was intact. His presence on our channel was also a good pretext to hear him recount his musical adventure in contact with the great figures of our time, from Quincy Jones to Harry Belafonte…
All these seasoned artists were not to overshadow the young talents. On November 6, 2022, the grandson of Fela Anikulapo Kuti and son of Femi Kuti, Madé Kuti took the time to answer our questions backstage at the Philharmonie de Paris a few hours before a particularly vibrant concert organized in the preamble to the exhibition “Fela Kuti, Rebellion Afrobeat”. There is no doubt that the family heritage was, at this precise moment, weighing on the shoulders of this 27-year-old young man, but his vigor and his foresight will certainly guide him on the path of excellence and heritage respect.
What does 2023 hold for us? We bet that we will once again be delighted by the commitment of personalities totally invested in their art. The “L’épopée” team will make it their duty to celebrate them throughout the year!